Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 4

Lineage of Vyāsas, Division of the Veda, and Vāsudeva/Īśāna as the Veda-Known Supreme

Devanagari script

सप्तमे च तथैवेन्द्रो वसिष्ठश्चाष्टमे मतः / सारस्वतश्च नवमे त्रिधामा दशमे स्मृतः

Transliteration

saptame ca tathaivendro vasiṣṭhaścāṣṭame mataḥ / sārasvataśca navame tridhāmā daśame smṛtaḥ

Translation

Im siebten ist es ebenso Indra (so benannt). Im achten gilt Vasiṣṭha (als Indra). Im neunten ist (Indra) Sārasvata; und im zehnten wird er als Tridhāman in Erinnerung gehalten.

Word by Word

• saptame: in the seventh
• saptame: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (elliptic)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/अनुरूपता-वाचक (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• indraḥ: Indra
• indraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/नाम

• vasiṣṭhaḥ: Vasiṣṭha
• vasiṣṭhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasiṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/नाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• aṣṭame: in the eighth
• aṣṭame: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (elliptic)

• mataḥ: is considered
• mataḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/भाववाच्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: man (धातु) + mata (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘(saḥ) mataḥ’ = ‘is considered’

• sārasvataḥ: Sārasvata
• sārasvataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārasvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/नाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• navame: in the ninth
• navame: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: navama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (elliptic)

• tridhāmā: Tridhāmā
• tridhāmā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri-dhāman (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि+धामन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/नाम

• daśame: in the tenth
• daśame: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (elliptic)

• smṛtaḥ: is said/remembered
• smṛtaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/भाववाच्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + smṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘(saḥ) smṛtaḥ’ = ‘is remembered/said’

Speaker

Sūta (traditional narrator) recounting Purāṇic chronology to the sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Vasiṣṭha
• Sārasvata
• Tridhāman
• Manvantara

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by presenting the revolving offices of cosmic governance (like Indra), it implies that all such roles are impermanent within time, while the Supreme Self is the stable reality beyond these changing Manvantara administrations.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; its contribution is contextual—mapping cosmic cycles that later support Kurma Purana teachings on disciplined dharma and yoga by placing spiritual practice within a vast, ordered cosmology.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Not explicitly; however, the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis frames these Manvantara successions as functions within one divine order, ultimately governed by the Supreme Lord beyond sectarian division.